


gargoyles and gurneys

by excorde (constant)



Category: TREASURE (Korea Band)
Genre: Abandoned Chapel, Adventure, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Gen, Haunted Elements, Spooky, an attempt on crack and horror, doyoung trips a lot, everyone's in here but im just tagging the main characters, hajeongwoo argues a lot, not intended to be satirical, pointless teenage banter, so junghwan-centric, yedam best boy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-02
Updated: 2020-11-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 23:40:36
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27341365
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/constant/pseuds/excorde
Summary: "Jeongwoo, if I die right now, can you tell my mom that I love her?""Not if I die first."In which Hyunsuk's limited edition football rolls over to an abandoned chapel, and maknae line makes an attempt to retrieve it. (Because for some reason, Hyunsuk is more frightening than the old eerie place.)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 54





	gargoyles and gurneys

**Author's Note:**

> mentally, i am still on october 31st. 
> 
> not specifying the spooky elements to avoid spoilers but if u dont read this in a dark room alone, it isnt actually that scary... truthfully? this is not v scary...

Junghwan has no idea that the _grandparents' house_ Jaehyuk has been raving about is a drafty eighteenth century farmhouse on the outskirts of _Gangwon_ province. It's the only house visible on the highway of Yanggu lane, and the nearest neighbors are almost a mile away. 

Jihoon parks the minivan in the front yard, and one by one, they disembark the vehicle, hurrying after the _'Toyota Rush'_ group, who are already gawking at the house with jaws wide open - Jeongwoo, in particular. 

"Hyung, have your grandparents ever heard of 'civilization'?" 

Haruto elbows him, perhaps a little too hard because Jeongwoo doubles over, gasping in ragged breaths. Fortunately, the simultaneous chatter of twelve men had droned out his question, and even if it hadn't, Jaehyuk seems to be preoccupied receiving Yoshi's heartfelt compliments all while ushering everyone else inside to notice a sarcastic remark. 

In contrast to how gloomy the house looks from the outside, Junghwan feels an inexplicable warmth as soon as he takes his first step on the foyer. 

The walls are white, lined with landscape paintings and framed college diplomas. The family photos are displayed on the fireplace mantelpiece in the living room, where a couch with velvet cushions sits right in front of the hearth, and where Junkyu and Jihoon collapse dramatically before complimenting the homey vibe. 

The house is cleaner than any of their apartments from what Junghwan can tell, not a misplaced furniture or a speck of dust detected. Jaehyuk has mentioned about a housekeeper keeping the place in order, someone who, according to the older, has been with the family since Jaehyuk's dad was a toddler. 

Right on time, a lady wearing a maroon apron walks in from what one can assume to be the kitchen. The noise dies down instantly, like a light switching off. Her white hair is tied up in a bun and strands fall to her scowling wrinkled face. Jaehyuk walks up to her, grabs her right hand and gently brings the top of her palm up to his forehead. (Jaehyuk has mentioned that the lady is from Southeast Asia, but he can't specifically remember the name of the country.) 

The lady scans the room as if judging them one-by-one and when her cold gaze lands on Junghwan, he looks away. 

"Guys, this is Aunt Lita." 

The boys begin greeting her in a rush of muffled ' _hellos_ ' and ' _nice to meet yous_ '. Asahi even going as far as to copy Jaehyuk's previous gesture by lifting her palm up to his forehead. 

"Is anyone allergic to peanuts?" Is the only thing she says, addressing the entire room with her croaky old voice and unfocused eyes. After a series of _nos_ , she disappears into the kitchen. 

"She's cool, isn't she?" Jaehyuk asks after she has gone. The only ones kind enough to agree were Asahi, Yoshi and Hyunsuk, while the rest proceed with their businesses as if nothing has happened. 

"Can we go see our rooms?" Sprawled on the couch, Junkyu props his elbows on Jihoon's stomach to make eye-contact with Jaehyuk across the room, elicting a groan from his victim.

"Sure! The rooms are upstairs."

There are three rooms available. Jaehyuk, Yoshi, Yedam and Junkyu take the master bedroom, the biggest of all with a queen-sized poster bed and a magnificent view of the front yard through a window. 

Next is Jaehyuk's dad's old bedroom which is relatively small compared to the master bedroom, but is just about enough to fit four grown men. Doyoung, Jihoo n, Haruto and Mashiho win this 'second place space' through a game of rock-paper-scissors. 

And finally, for the remaining (bottom) four - Junghwan, Asahi, Hyunsuk and Jeongwoo, they take the guest room. The single bed can only fit one person, and the younger ones immediately knew that they have to give it up for their eldest friend, which he gladly and hastily accepts.

The rest of the day passed quite quickly with the boys getting themselves comfortable around the house - Asahi and Yedam plays with the old piano they find in the drawing room. Doyoung, Junkyu and Jeongwoo laugh at Jaehyuk's naked baby pictures on the mantelpiece, which the latter defends is adorable, even with his little weenie hanging off his chubby legs for the world to see. Hyunsuk and Mashiho disappear into the kitchen, probably to help Aunt Lita out with dinner. 

That's the only room - the kitchen, that is - Junghwan and Haruto steers clear of as they roam around the house to explore. He learns a while back that Haruto is just as creeped out of the old lady as he is, and has felt quite relieved knowing he isn't the only one feeling that way.

The rest are up in their rooms, probably asleep. 

"Who wants to play ball?" Jeongwoo cheerfully announces as he lifts a familiar golden football over his head. 

After _exploring_ with Haruto, the two have resigned to rest in the living room. But upon the mention and sight of a football, Junghwan's energy skyrockets again. 

"Isn't that the limited edition football Hyunsuk hyung had bent his back for just to get a copy of?" Junkyu raises an eyebrow. 

Haruto pipes in. "Yeah, Jeongwoo. If I were you, I wouldn't touch anything that could get myself on Hyunsuk hyung's bad side." 

"I wasn't asking you, Watanabe." 

"You were looking right at me!" 

"No, I wasn't!" 

They went on for about a minute before Yedam told them off. "Well, no one's going to end up on anyone's bad side if the ball's all taken care of, right?" 

" _And_ if you ask permission." Junkyu adds, looking from one of his younger friends to another. Jeongwoo, Yedam, Doyoung and Junghwan have all risen from their seats, all ready to head out and play ball. "I really think you should ask permission." The older continues, now with a worried hint on his tone. 

"Junghwan should do it." 

The aforementioned boy glares at Jeongwoo. "Why me?" 

"Because you're the youngest." Junghwan doesn't even have a retort to that. "Go on." Jeongwoo motions towards the archway leading out of the living room. "Hyunsuk hyung's in the kitchen. We'll wait for you outside." 

Junghwan watches as they step out the front door, a little astounded at the fact that Jeongwoo's only five months older than him but he's left to do this kind of shit. 

Anyway. 

He sets determinedly to the kitchen, but stops short when he reaches the entryway, realizing that both Hyunsuk and Mashiho are facing against him, and the first person to spot him is Aunt Lita. 

She looks up from the batter she's stirring. It's as if she senses that someone is approaching even when Junghwan barely made a sound. Her eyes narrow slightly when she meets eyes with the boy, and Junghwan could have sworn her orbs flashed a yellowish color - almost like a cat's - before settling back to a normal shade.

Before she can address him, Junghwan flees, heading straight to the front door. 

"Did you ask permission?" Junkyu calls. 

"Uh, yeah." Junghwan lies before closing the door after him. 

He finds them in a field, a few yards away from the house, forming a circle where they have already started passing the ball in light kicks and headbutts. 

They pause to stare at Junghwan approach, or so he thinks.

“Well, look who has come to join us.” Jeongwoo places both hands on his hips, eyes looking over Junghwan's shoulder. 

The younger glances behind him, and is immediately enlightened when he realizes Haruto has been following closely behind. 

“Shut your piehole, Jeongwoo.” 

The little game of football commences smoothly with no further arguments or problems - the newly arrivals inserting into the circle, and together, the quintet proceeds taking turns passing the ball around. 

“Should we move closer to the house? I don’t really feel safe being this near to the slope.” Doyoung suggests after having to run after the ball, just in time before it rolls off to the dip in the hill. 

“It’s not that near.” Haruto observes. 

“Yet we almost lost the ball to it.” Jeongwoo retorts. 

“We can’t move closer to the house either. What if the ball hits one of the windows?” Junghwan asks, respectfully. 

Jeongwoo nods, saying, “Breaking something in that house honestly scares me more than running after a ball down a hill.” 

“It’s okay, Doyoung-ah. Let’s just be more careful.” Yedam assures him, sending a smile at his direction. 

The game resumes. 

Junghwan likes to believe that they _did_ try to be careful to the best of their ability. But when it comes to playing games, you can never be fully in control with the circumstances. 

Yedam executes a perfect bicycle kick which awes everyone, distracting them for a half a second as the ball spins in the air, flying over Jeongwoo’s head. 

The ball's golden metallic skin catches the sunlight, flipping a few times as it loses altitude, and Junghwan only snaps out of his little daze when he hears someone gasp.

It's at that moment he realized they fucked up. 

"Shit!" Jeongwoo chases after the ball - Hyunsuk's most treasured limited edition FC Barcelona gold metallic ball - nearly tumbling over the steep ground as he and Doyoung bump into each other to chase after it. 

Soon, the two disappear out of view running down the hill, followed closely by Yedam. 

Junghwan gives Haruto a glance, who is the only one who hasn't moved a muscle.

"Do we _all_ have to go after it?" The older asks. 

Junghwan shrugs. From below, he hears Jeongwoo curse for the umpteenth time followed by a stern reprimand: " _Language_!" 

"Haruto! Junghwan! Come over here!" It's Yedam, voice tinged with urgency. 

Junghwan looks towards Haruto's direction again who now has slouched shoulders to go with his deep frown. 

"Guess that's our cue. Let's go, hyung." Junghwan starts towards the steep hill, Haruto following right behind him, muttering under his breath. "Do we really have to _go_?"

The others are not far off. Their figures are partially covered with the foliage at the base of the hill. Junghwan can't actually see much of Doyoung. Yedam peeks out of the branches, waving at the two boys making their way down to hurry. Jeongwoo is clutching at the sleeve of his shirt, a constipated look on his features. 

"What happened, hyung? Where's the ball?" 

"We think it rolled off to that lot." 

"What lot?" 

Yedam doesn't respond right away. In fact, he doesn't respond at all. Instead, he focuses his gaze straight ahead, past through a thicket of more branches and trees, towards Doyoung, who is standing right before a dark, crummy, somewhat dilapidated building. 

"Hell no." Haruto breathes right before his ear, making Junghwan jump and hit him on the arm as a knee-jerk reaction. Haruto hits him back. 

"Is that a haunted house?" Haruto asks in a whisper. 

"No, dumbass. It's a _church_. Look at the structures." Jeongwoo snaps at him, still clutching at Yedam's sleeve.

"Not everyone looks at churches in their free time, Einstein." 

"Hush, you two!" Yedam shuts them up, "And you're both wrong. That's actually more of a chapel than a church." 

" _Po-tay-to. Po-tah-to._ " 

Yedam proceeds, ignoring Jeongwoo, "We need to get the ball back before the sun sets." 

"Hyung, you've got to be kidding. We can _die_ in there." 

"It's either we die in there," Junghwan starts, looking at all of his friends one by one, "Or we die in Hyunsuk hyung's hands." He doesn't tell them that he has failed to ask permission to borrow the ball. He can't imagine what would happen if they fail to get it back - the explanations they owe, the lies he has to cover for another lie, etc. That's why he's going to do whatever it takes to retrieve it, get the gnawing feeling of guilt off his back, and hopefully prevent all those troubles for himself and for his friends.

Jeongwoo groans in defeat. "Why did it have to be that ball!" 

"Come on. Let's check on Doyoung. Maybe he found it somewhere in the courtyard." Yedam leads them to the wrought iron fence overgrown with weeds and vines. Doyoung is crouching below when they arrive as if looking for something on the ground. 

"Did you find it?" 

Doyoung straightens up. When he turns to look at them, his face is pale. Junghwan sees him swallow nervously before wiping his hands on his jeans. 

"Y-yeah. It's right there." Doyoung doesn't point at it; rather he motions near the east side of the building, where Hyunsuk's magnificent golden ball awaits them on the dusty ground. 

"Wait, are you okay?" Yedam asks. 

"Yeah." Doyoung clears his throat. "I'm just trying to figure out a way in." 

Yedam frowns. "What do you mean? The gate is right there at the front, and it's wide open." 

"I know." 

Junghwan sees Doyoung swallow hard once again. He follows his gaze by their feet and that's when he realizes what has gotten him so worked up. 

"I don't mean a way in _for us_." 

But a way in for _the ball._

"I found no holes in the fences, hyung. Everything is either way too small or patched up with vines. There's no way a ball could have gotten through the church's perimeter from this direction." 

An eerie silence flits through them for a few seconds; it is _so_ quiet that you can't even hear the leaves rustling even when the cold wind tingles your skin. 

Fortunately, Jeongwoo chooses that moment to speak up. 

"Maybe the ball was maneuvered by the wind through the front gate. Come on, guys. It's not that deep." 

"How often do you think the wind changes its direction in a span of _seconds_?" 

"Cut it out." Yedam warns them as Jeongwoo opens his mouth to retort. "Either way, it's there now and we're all here to get it back. Let's go now before nighttime catches up." 

"I think I'll stay here." Haruto says, his expression showing finality and determination. 

"Oh, don't be a pussy! We all played with that stupid ball and we're all going to fetch it together." 

"Jeongwoo's right, hyung. It's not fair." Junghwan warily adds. 

Before Haruto can respond (protest), Jeongwoo grabs him by the arm and pulls him to the direction of the front gate where Yedam and Doyoung have already set off quietly in the middle of their argument. Junghwan brings up the rear. 

After everyone has stepped inside the gate, Yedam picks up a large rock he finds on the ground and places it before the bottom rail of the gate, using it as a stopper. He makes sure that the gate is wide enough to allow at least two people to go through at the same time. 

"You know how in horror movies the gates and doors just miraculously lock the characters in?" He says as he dusts off his hands. 

"Hyung, I don't think those were miracles." Doyoung says. 

"Either _way_." 

"Hyungs, this is no time to scare each other off. The ball is just right there." Junghwan beckons them to follow him. He knows exactly where all the courage is coming from. He's afraid of Hyunsuk more than this creepy old chapel. He's afraid of Junkyu catching him in a lie. He's afraid he's dragging his other hyungs into the mess he started. Getting that ball back is equivalent to saving his ass. So. 

The ground is littered with rubble and untrimmed grass. Junghwan thinks that the place probably had a pretty landscape before people were driven to abandon it. 

As if reading his thoughts, Jeongwoo whispers, "Why do you think this place got abandoned?" 

Doyoung responds in the same whispering tone, "World War II?" 

A quick pause, then: "Don't ask me. I don't pay attention in class." 

"Can we not talk about the second world war? It's putting me in an awkward position." 

"We're all cool, Ruto-yah." 

"LoL."

"It's all in the past now." 

"Jeongwoo, did you just say 'LOL' out loud?" 

"I think the place was shut down by some kind of natural disaster." Junghwan catches behind Doyoung and Yedam, the former flinching a little at the younger's sudden presence. " _That_ or the fact that the only household around is the Yoon's, forcing whatever authority to stop services with barely people around to visit." 

"Good point." 

They're only several steps away from the ball now. Before Junghwan can rejoice at this fact, someone - there can only be two possible _someones_ \- slams from behind him, making him topple over and hit the other two in front of him. 

Doyoung loses balance and falls to the ground face first. 

Yedam gasps. 

Jeongwoo curses again. 

Haruto cries a horrified, "No!" 

As Doyoung falls flat on his face, the crown of his head brushes the ball lightly, triggering it to move and roll off towards the open window of what appeared to be an underground basement. The ball disappears into it, echoing ominously as it bounces on the floor. 

"Great! Just great! If we weren't dying a few seconds ago, then we are _definitely_ dying now." 

"Jeongwoo, you're the one who pushed me into Junghwanie who pushed into Doyoung who pushed the ball into the goddamn church!" 

"Um, I wouldn't recommend saying 'goddamn' right now. Considering, you know-" Doyoung pushes himself off the ground, dusting his hands warily as he eyes Jeongwoo and Haruto, but he's being shamelessly ignored by both. 

Jeongwoo jabs a finger at Haruto's chest. "Shut up." 

As Yedam reassures the apologetic Doyoung, Junghwan jogs towards the entrance of the church. The high wooden doors are all dusty and viney but most of all, it's closed. 

"Hyungs!" He calls in a whisper-yell. In a second, the rest appear by his side; Doyoung's and Yedam's arms are looped around each other and Jeongwoo holds Haruto by the collar while the Japanese boy clutches at his shirt. Junghwan decides not to ask. 

"Help me with the door." 

With a few nods, they all head towards the front door and place their hands against the dusty wooden surface. Jeongwoo stances himself like he's some action hero holding off a tilting bus. 

"On three." Yedam says, "One, two, _three_!" 

They pour all of their strength into the door, expecting to spend a sheer amount of force just to get it to crack, when instead, it easily slides open as if welcoming them in.

A few of them tumble forward - Haruto does not even flinch (it does not take a fool to realize that he didn't waste an ounce of energy onto the door) - but Doyoung falls face first on the ground. Again. 

He stands back up in a hurry as if doing so would prevent the others from witnessing the drastic sequel of his fall. 

Jeongwoo snorts the moment Doyoung looks up at them. Dust covers the majority of his face, like he plastered a charcoal facial mask on and it has started to peel off.

"What?" 

Junghwan points at his face. "You have a little something on your…" 

Jeongwoo stifles a laugh and Haruto elbows him to shut him up but he himself is pinching his nose as an attempt to hold back his laughter. 

As Yedam helps Doyoung clear his face off of dust, Junghwan steps inside the vestibule, instantly feeling a creep in his skin as he looks around the area. 

Junghwan has not been inside any religious institution before so he has no idea what to make out of this one. Within the layers of dust, webs, and peeling paint, he can just point out how every corner, every object, every artifact is intricately designed. 

The vestibule directly leads to the main hall where masses are held, where brides walk down the aisle and towards the altar. 

Without having any particular thought in mind, Junghwan steps through the archway that separates the vestibule from the hall, coughing lightly as he inhales a fit of dust. 

"Junghwan, get back here!" Jeongwoo hisses from behind. He ignores him. 

Junghwan is entranced. 

The hall is even more gothic and intriguing at a closer distance. The pews are covered with white cloth. It takes a moment for him to realize that even the image right at the center of the altar is covered as well, and so are the statues plastered on the walls lining up at the side. 

"Very charming." Jeongwoo is right behind him now and despite the sarcastic statement, there is a trace of tremor in his voice. Yedam and Doyoung appear before him, each at either of his sides.

"I don't like this." Doyoung says. 

A loud gasp suddenly comes out of Yedam's mouth, making all of them startle and turn towards him. He is gazing up at the ceiling, and he doesn't look away from it as he motions a finger upward. 

They all look up at the same time. While the others gasp, Junghwan feels the air gets knocked out of him. 

In what seems to be rococo motif, puffy clouds and little cherubs encompass the whole ceiling in what Junghwan assumes to be a blue sky. The paint has faded over the years - or over the stuff this place had gone through, whatever those are - and the dark room has given off an ominous vibe around the image. If this is supposed to give off an image of heaven, it's dealing the opposite regard to Junghwan at the moment. 

"Asahi hyung and Yoshi hyung can paint better than that if they wanted to." Haruto's voice bounces off the walls, it almost shakes the entire building. 

No. 

No, it's not that.

The moment he spoke, something rustled in the general direction of the altar. Whatever it is, it moved too fast for any of them to discern it. Junghwan only catches sight of the white cloth strewn over the large table sweeping on its own. 

"What was that?" 

"Probably just a rat." 

"Can we go get the ball now?" 

"Can we just forget the ball and go now?" 

There's no open spaces around for the wind to pass through yet the place feels so chilly Junghwan could have sworn they are outdoors. 

A single stained glass window on the western wall allows the gleam of the sunset to illuminate the area between the aisle and the sanctuary - the only source of light in the building. 

"We've come this far. We should at least go after the ball now." Junghwan tells them determinedly. Without waiting for a response, he heads back to the vestibule where he has spotted a descending staircase earlier.

Junghwan can hear their footsteps not too far behind him which he deems is a good sign because it means they're following. 

"Wait!" 

Junghwan stops right before the staircase to look over his shoulder.

"Shouldn't we put a stopper on the front door just like what we did on the gate?" Doyoung asks. 

"There's no time, hyung." Junghwan replies. 

"Let's just keep it wide open." Yedam says.

" _Or_ ," Haruto starts, looking at them one-by-one, "I can stay here and keep lookout." 

The others stare at him silently for a second, all figuring out if he's joking. 

"You want to stay here on your own?" 

A flash of realization hits his face, then he says, "Right. I didn't think of that." Haruto claps energetically, the sound echoing around the enclosed room. "Come on, let's go and hunt down that ball!" 

Another rustling sets off from god-knows-where and the group, except Junghwan who stands a little away from them, huddles closer in fright.

"For crying out loud, Ruto! You have got to stop doing that!" Jeongwoo whisper-scolds him and Haruto responds back with a sheepish smile and a tug on his earlobe. 

"Sorry." 

Jeongwoo swats his hand away. 

"Okay, can we proceed now?" Junghwan asks them - all of them - and his hyungs all give a nod. 

"Okay. Follow my lead. Try not to make any more unnecessary noises." Junghwan starts down the staircase when he remembers to add, "And try not to touch anything." 

"Why?" Jeongwoo asks. 

Haruto answers for him, "Just do as you're told, dumbass." 

Jeongwoo is right in the middle of a retort when he suddenly lets out a loud yelp. 

"Shit, sorry. I thought I saw a ghost." 

As they reach the landing, a white figure floating against the wall appears into view. 

"It's just a statue." Yedam tells him softly. 

"Well, they have got to stop with the whole white cloth thing. It's way damn creepy." 

"I bet the statues are creepier without them. Best to leave them be." 

"Why do they have so many statues anyway? I mean, how many images of God do they need?" 

Four heads turn towards Haruto. The innocent look on his face tells Junghwan it's a genuine question. 

"What?" He demands. 

Junghwan starts on the second flight of stairs, the conversation of his older friends not dying away despite the situation they are in. 

"Are you not religious, Haruto?" Doyoung asks. 

"My family's Buddhist. Does that count?" 

"Of course not, stupid! We're in a Christian church!" Jeongwoo.

"Catholic. It's Catholic." Yedam. "And it's a chapel, not a church."

"Then he should have asked about my Christianism! He didn't specify it!" 

" _Christianism_!" Jeongwoo cries in disbelief. 

"Guys!" Junghwan calls for their attention, "Hyungs, hey! Will you shut up? I think we're here." 

There's no door to the basement. Maybe there used to be in the past, judging from the broken hinges by the doorway, but now it's just an archway leading towards a pitchblack room. 

Junghwan takes baby steps towards the entrance. He's holding his breath as he scans the darkness, bracing himself for something that could possibly jump at him in the dark. 

"I don't think this is a good idea." Jeongwoo's voice is hushed and trembling, but it's close by. Junghwan feels all of his hyungs' presence right behind him, which is enough motivation for him to push through. 

His eyes immediately turn towards the open window near the ceiling - the same window the ball has gone through from the outside - and breathes out a sigh of relief at the faint sight of light. 

The sun is about to disappear from the horizon and its brightness isn't enough to illuminate the dark room. Junghwan can't discern a thing positioned against this stream of light, his eyes playing with shadowy figures and movements which forces him to look away before he sees anything else. 

"Does anyone have a light?" 

Yedam fishes something out from his pocket. "I have my phone." 

He turns on the flashlight feature on the device, directing it straight ahead of them. 

The room is actually not that big. Perhaps it's just all the stuff lying around making it look smaller. 

"Please tell me I'm tripping and that I'm not actually seeing a fucking gurney in the middle of the room."

Junghwan wishes he could tell Jeongwoo that he is. But he's _not_ because like he said, a gurney of some sort is right smack before the shelves lining the opposite wall. It has no wheels and has more straps on the sides than a normal gurney requires. 

Junghwan feels a chill run down his spine as a hundred haunting ideas come rushing to his mind at once.

On the shelves are glasswares of all shapes and sizes. Junghwan even recognizes some as the same ones they used during Chemistry classes. 

Erlenmeyer flasks, test tubes, and… that's all he has retained, honestly. 

Inside the glassware are carcasses of tiny animals, preserved in a kind of fluid that holds them up in the container - frogs, spiders, squirrels… 

And is that… 

"Holy shit, is that-?" 

-an _eyeball_? 

"Please don't say the h-word in here. Please." 

"Can we get out of here, _please_." 

At that moment, Yedam refocuses the light to the side of the room and Junghwan doesn't know if this change of focus is better or worse. 

A human-sized wooden casket is shoved upright at the wall. 

"I'm gonna faint." 

Yedam turns the light to the opposite side this time and it just gets worse. 

That's why the room is small because one of the walls leads to another room, divided by steel bars running from the ceiling down to the floor. Sort of like… 

"A prison cell." 

The cell is just as filthy as the rest of the room but it gives off a different vibe on its own. There's a pile of whitish things on the corner - a round one with two hollow holes and a rigid long one - Yedam turns the light to another direction before Junghwan can take another good look at them. He thinks he knows what they are and he gets another chill down his spine. 

Junghwan hears someone whimper, breaking him off of his trance.

Jeongwoo and Haruto are now holding on to each other for dear life. Jeongwoo has his eyes tightly shut while Haruto has tears in his eyes. 

"Jeongwoo, if I die right now, can you tell my mom that I love her?" 

"Not if I die first." 

"There's the ball!" Yedam motions towards the corner right beside the wooden casket, steadying the light towards it. 

"Great! Go get it, _maknae_!" Jeongwoo pushes the aforementioned boy forward. 

For the first time that day, Junghwan hesitates. 

"Why me?" 

He looks at Yedam, who holds up his phone defensively. "I'm holding the light." 

He turns to Doyoung next, who immediately hides behind Yedam, shaking his head mutely. He doesn't even have to look at Jeongwoo and Haruto's direction to check on them. Junghwan sighs. 

"We'll be right behind you." 

Junghwan takes a tentative step forward. It's as if every step he takes causes a degree drop in the temperature. He keeps his eyes on the golden ball, focusing on nothing else but his target. 

_One swift move. Do it in one swift move._

And so he does - Junghwan sprints towards the ball and picks it up in the blink of an eye, returning towards his friends, gasping for air. He realizes that he held his breath the whole time. Yedam pats him at the back. 

"Now let's get out of here." 

"Is it over? Can we go now?" 

"Yes, Jeongwoo. Thanks for nothing." 

"Look who's talking!" 

Junghwan thinks he must have been imagining it, but as he turns his head back towards the direction of the casket, he realizes that the creaking sound he heard over Hajeongwoo's voices isn't just a figment of his imagination. 

"Uh, hyungs?" 

Junghwan grabs for the nearest person without looking away from the casket, shaking the poor victim as he tries to tell them about what he's seeing without the use of words. 

Soon, the boys fall into silence, finally noticing the lid of the casket creaking open. Slowly. 

"Run!" Yedam grabs Doyoung before leading them out the doorway, Hajeongwoo following closely, screaming their lungs off. 

Junghwan unfreezes from his spot and catches up with them. He takes long strides and skips a couple of steps on the stairs to increase his step which causes him to slip, the stairstep collapsing under his weight. His left foot slips through the staircase and Junghwan feels a horrifying chill as he realizes that his foot is now hovering in the ceiling of the prison cell. 

"Shit. Shit, shit, shit!" 

"Junghwan!" 

At that moment, several things happened at once: Haruto turns back to save Junghwan. Yedam runs off with his phone in hand, caring about nothing but escaping that damned place alive. Now that he's gone, this leaves the others in a dim lit horror. Doyoung, who has startled at Haruto's voice, trips on his final step before he reaches the landing. He flails his arms around before he lands on the flat ground, his hand accidentally pulling the white cloth covering the statue. Jeongwoo just managed to avoid tripping on him, but as he does so, he comes face to face with the mutilated statue. Jeongwoo screams. 

"WHERE IS THE HEAD?" 

Junghwan has no idea how they all managed to make it out alive; right after Haruto has pulled him out of the staircase, the following events are a series of blurs and screams and cursing and pulling at each other's clothes. 

The next thing Junghwan knows, they're sprinting out of the church gates as if they're competing with each other in a marathon. It's almost completely dark out and Junghwan thinks of nothing else but to get back to the house before the dark sky engulfs them. 

All he can think about is to _run_. Fuck breathing. Fuck the branches hitting him on the face. Fuck the tree roots he keeps tripping over; he can just pick himself back up. 

All he can think about is to run, run and _run_. And all he hears is his companions' heavy breathing and footsteps both behind and in front of him.

They don't stop until they reach the house's front porch, nearly collapsing at the distance they ran from the church and up towards the peak of the hill, non-stop. 

"Now I'm really-" Doyoung takes a sharp breath, "-gonna faint." 

"Let's not talk about this ever again." Yedam finally says, clutching the ball closer to his chest. Junghwan doesn't remember how the ball had gotten to him, but that's not important now. 

"Agreed." 

They head back inside the house one by one, in order from the first one who recovers from their horrifying experience. Surprisingly, Jeongwoo is the first one to leave, followed by Doyoung. Then Haruto, then Yedam. 

If Junghwan hasn't felt that prickly feeling of cold fingers closing around his ankles when he slipped in the staircase, maybe he would have recovered easily too. 

  
  
  


Even though they resolved to never talk about it again, Yedam still thanked Hyunsuk for letting them borrow the ball during dinner, ever the polite one out of all of them. 

Junghwan keeps his gaze on his plate, afraid to look at anyone when he gets busted. 

Fortunately, Hyunsuk seems to be pleasantly surprised by something else. 

"Limited edition?" 

Yedam replies, "Yeah. Isn't that the FC Barcelona limited edition ball you were dying to get your hands on?" 

Hyunsuk laughs. "No, silly. That one's a replica. Did you boys seriously think I would bring the original with me anywhere?" 

No amount of goosebumps he had felt during their time at the chapel could compete with the one Junghwan's having right now. 

Junghwan, Doyoung, Jeongwoo, Haruto and Yedam all look at each other with horrified, shocked, disbelieving expressions on their faces. 

"So we went all through that for NOTHING?!" Jeongwoo yells, dropping his chopsticks down in a clang. 

"What?" Junkyu turns towards them curiously. The rest also start to perk up, looking up from their plates with wide eyes. "What? Went through what?" 

The younger ones don't respond to their inquiries - Jeongwoo's staring into space like he's going through it. Haruto is pulling at his hair, head bent downwards. Yedam and Doyoung are staring at each other across the table, communicating silently through the teary gleam in their eyes. And Junghwan- 

He meets Aunt Lita's eyes again, who has been leaning against the kitchen counter the whole time, watching them eat. He has to admit, she's a great cook, but it still doesn't cancel out the fact that she gives Junghwan the creeps. 

And when her lips tug up in a sly gap-toothed grin, it's as if she knows exactly what just transpired during their little adventure. 

Haruto lets out a guttural sound in front of him, forcing Junghwan to look away from Aunt Lita. 

His voice drones over the older ones' concerned chatter as Haruto grumbles, " _Goddammit_!" 

"I still think we're not supposed to say that right now." 

  
  



End file.
